News - Philippines

GLOBE Program Water Body Campaign

From September 23 - 27, 2019, GLOBE Schools from the around the world will be conducting water measurements of various bodies of water within their vicinities in an effort to increase students' awareness of the importance of water in life.  

This project is also in line with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

The data collected worldwide will be compiled and made available for everyone for comparison. Join this fun way of learning and experiencing science.

PROJECT DETAILS:

Water Body Project
Date – 23 – 27 September 2019
Objectives:

1. Facilitate participation and ultimately collaboration around water bodies using the basic pH, Temp and macroinvertebrates protocols.
2. Connect to community problems and provide possible solutions using GLOBE materials
3. Connect to Sustainability Development Goals

• Water: SDG 6.3.2
• Girls in science and education. (SDG 4 and 5),
• Food security (SDG 2)

Overview

During one week, schools across the world will collect data using selected protocols that require little or no equipment about the condition of water in their communities. In so doing the following research questions will be interrogated.

 

Research questions

1. What is the state of your water source/body in your community/neighbourhood?
2. What does the environment around your water source/body look like?
3. What can your community do about the state of the water body and its environment?

 

Objectives

• Increase school participation and collaboration
• To take a Geographic snapshot of water conditions
• Interaction with scientists before, during and after the data collection event.

 

Expected outcomes

• Participation in International Virtual Science Fair (IVSF)
• Increase in student research projects
• Community benefits – connect to Sustainability Development Goal (SDG) 6.3.2
• Girls in science and education. (SDG 4 and 5)
• Potential for future growth of indirect relationship between water quality and food security (SDG 2)
• Maps and initial visualizations and analyses in a timely fashion

 

Approach

• Participants undertake training in the hydrosphere protocol
• Participants identify a water source/body in their neighbourhood
• Participants take coordinates of the water body along the shores of the water body, if it’s small they can take four coordinates around the body.
• Participants fill out a site definition sheet (provided for the Hydrosphere protocol)

 

Question 1

What is the state of your water source/body in your community/neighbourhood?

Protocols: Select 3 that all students should do at all sites. Additional protocols are encouraged.

• Macroinvertebrates – ID charts available online
• pH (paper or pen?)
• Water temperature

Other protocols recommended

• Nitrates
• Transparency
• Phosphates
• Electrical conductivity
• Alkalinity
• Salinity
• Dissolved oxygen
• turbidity
• GO app – land cover
• All others

These parameters should be recorded once or twice a week but consistently on a particular day. Visit https://www.globe.gov/get-trained/protocol-etraining/etraining-modules/16867649/12273

 

Question 2

What does the environment around your water body look like?

• Participants should take record of what the surroundings of the water source/body look like e.g soils, vegetation, settlement, land cover, land uses, tributary, degradation, presence of factory etc.
• Make a cloud cover observation (simplest of all) to support the water source catchment.
• A land cover observation using the observer app.
• A tree observation using the globe observer app.
• These observations can be done as far as radius of a Kilometre.

It is important to observe the surroundings because they influence water quality. Degraded surroundings tell a lot about water quality.

• Document site using photographs.
• Create a study site map.

 

Question 3

What can your community do about the state of the water body and its environment?

• Participants should answer questions like;
• How is my community using the water body?
• How is my community managing the water source?
• Is there a water user association with in the community and how does it operate etc

This will require 3 - 5 questions students can ask in the community.

 

N.B. Research questions 2 and 3 are important for those who want to pursue a submission for the IVSS.

type: globe-news

News origin: Philippines

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